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The Syrian Army and the National Defense Forces, supported by Russian air strikes, managed to drive ISIS out of a long section of the strategic Aleppo-Raqqa highway in the northern part of Syria. According to the field reports, the Syrian troops’ offensive forced the terrorists to retreat and suffer large casualties in the fighting. The clashes followed the Syrian Arab Army’s last week assault on the ISIS positions at the Siyasko Chemical Factory’s western and eastern perimeters.
The Syrian Arab Army(SAA) is continuing to advance towards the Turkish border in northern Latakia. The pro-government forces capitalized the Russian air support freeing the villages of ‘Arafat, Rwaysat Al-Sheikhou and Katf Al-Salat captured by Al-Nusra militants three months ago. The goal of the military operation is to take control of the border with Turkey and to secure the Latakia-Idlib axis.
The SAA, Hezbollah and the National Defense Forces (NDF) are advancing in the Aleppo province after capturing the village of ‘Aqulah over the weekend. The Syrian forces launched an assault on the ISIS positions at the Rasm Al-‘Abid Grain Silos and reportedly killed about 15 militants and destroyed 3 armored vehicles. Following the clashes with ISIS, the SAA and its allies imposed full control over the Rasm Al-‘Abid Grain Silos expanding a buffer zone at the southern perimeter of the Kuweires Military Airport and the Aleppo-Raqqa Highway.
Russia is also reportedly preparing to deploy fixed-wing aircraft and about 1,000 troops to the government-controlled Shayrat Airbase in Homs Province. According to some reports, the force of guards and military engineers has already been deployed there. If it’s true, this step will significantly help to the Syrian forces’ ongoing offensive to recapture the ISIS-controlled city of Palmyra.
SouthFront: Analysis & Intelligence remembers France agreed to coordinate airstrikes with Russia against ISIS and share information on the disposition of armed groups in Syria. On December 1, the German cabinet backed plans for military support in the fight against ISIS militants in Syria. Tornado reconnaissance aircraft, a naval frigate and a 1,200-strong force will be sent to the region under the proposals.
Germany has an agreement with France to share information on the disposition of armed groups in Syria. Thus, Russia-France-Germany trilateral cooperation in the intelligence sharing on the Syrian crisis could be described as existent.
Crosstalk and the slippery slope ahead:
https://www.rt.com/shows/crosstalk/324215-russian-jet-turkey-terrorism/
“Thus, Russia-France-Germany trilateral cooperation in the intelligence sharing on the Syrian crisis could be described as existent.”
We’ll see about that. I wouldn’t trust either France or Germany “as far as I could throw them”.
Absolutely, you should not trust them. Possibly Germans and French will not be active in the future provocations against Russia but they are there to tie Putin’s hands with false promises of cooperation while everybody else comes and bombs whatever they want in Syria. Further provocations can be expected from Turks, Americans and Brits. With the entry of UK Russia’s role is further diminished. I think this is the plan of the West. To diminish the role of Russia in Syria to the point that Russia will be forced to join US devised plan. So Russia will be co-opted by western coalition and will end up selling Assad out(*). This will be the only quasi-face-saving option for Russia. Russia has no other options. If Russia could impose and enforce the no-fly zone UK nor US would not be flying over Syria. But Russia cannot enforce the no-fly zone. Since Russia has no means of conventional escalation and has no stomach for a nuclear one Russia must give in. The West will try to minimize embarrassment for Putin and provide him with a soft landing. Still it may not prevent serious challenges to Putin power in Russia. Putin is fighting for his life.
(*) I would expect provocation on Assad-Russia line to justify eventual Putin decision to break promises he made to Assad.
@ utu
Except for the part about Putin fighting for his life, unfortunately, I have to agree on everything else you’ve said.
This situation is becoming increasingly hopeless, even Lavelle who’s always on the rather over optimistic side of things expressed his concerns in the last CrossTalk episode.
Where are all our political commentators – who should be busy painting a realistic picture – gone? Do they all take a convenient leave every time something goes south? Are they afraid to spell it out or simply shell-shocked? Perhaps non of them want to be the harbinger of bad news?
Good or bad, the Truth is the Truth and it needs to be told, you don’t jump in the bandwagon only when things are looking up so you can have a good prod at the Hegemon we all hate and then disappear when there‘s trouble afoot.
Where are all the smug voices claiming that the US foreign policy is an utter failure? How is it – what it’s happening right now – a failure? Their aim always was world domination, if a scorched-earth policy is what it’s needed to achieve that, so be it, they don’t care. They never cared!
They would rather rule supreme on a barren planet rather than back down, not even an inch. These are the type of “people” who would say to your face without batting an eyelid that it’s; ‘better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.’ And you better believe they mean it. They’re not just “saying it” to spook you.
-TL2Q
This is very sad because Putin in Syria is on the side of good. His adversaries are on the side of evil. His adversaries are however stronger and more ruthless. And they control the narrative via the media.
I dont see the situation quite so pessimistically.
The main reason for this is that the position of the SAA is much the same as it was 10 weeks ago. No ground lost and so Assad looks no closer to being deposed.
The addition of the British and French to do bombing runs on ISIS is not really a problem because any pressure put on ISIS is less pressure on the SAA.
Even if Turkey invades and takes over the Eastern half of Syria, it still isnt a problem either, because the SAA is not capable of capturing back these areas from ISIS even with Russian aircover.
Russias plan has always been to not loose rather than win. Russia wants a negotiated settlement not an outright victory. I dont see Russia loosing the coastal strip of Syria any time soon.
Putin may hope that your point of view is shared by various siloviks in Kremlin. It is them who will be accounting Putin for his policies according their own definitions of winning and and losing.
Saker himself has said this before, woudl we rather have Putin buy time or just get on with a weak hand and have us all killed.. The US is very powerful, 25 years ago I heard of some of the things they were planning and I never imagined it would be for this.. The full spectrum domination.. They wereable to pull it off slowely and surely under our own eyes.. Last year Russia looked very weak and vulnerable and I bet it was the Chinese that propped it up. Russia dont look so weak now and every month they appear stronger.. No one at this point militarely think Russia is weak.. But no one seriously think Russia is a match for the US either let alone all of nato which together has like 20 times the budject of Russia. Russia is not backing down.. I dont see them give in to anything yet.. They are esclating things on par wth nato.. Just watch, Russia will have more assets in Syria than nato does.. In a real war, these IS goons sans the few thousand mercenaries are just cannon fodder.. They have strength now because they are using civilians as shields.. Russia could do a US and defeat them in a few months like what the US did in Iraq.. But look at the cost.. Time is on the side of those who have resources..
ISIS is there so everybody else can be there. This was the chief reason ISIS was aided to become what it is now. It was rolled out as a great media event (*) in winter 2014. And very soon after US created coalition to bomb them (Spring 2014). In 2013 the attempt to do Libya in Syria, i.e., the final solution by introducing the no-fly zone under the pretense of Syria using chemical weapon failed. In fact I still wonder how come it failed? Why Obama sided with Putin on this issue in September 2013? Anyway, when it failed ISIS was another attempt to internationalize conflict in Syria. Now it is being done. The sequence of the events (1) Invasion on Europe, (2) Putin move to Syria, (3) Paris 13 was connected and lead to the present situation. Anyway, just wanted to say that ISIS is really not important. It is not about ISIS. ISIS is just a tool. The game is much bigger.
(*) Spectacular atrocities professionally filmed.
The chemical attack failed because everyone knew it was a turkish black ops job. Russia put their black sea fleet in between the US and Syria and even shot down like 2 missiles supposedly fired from Israeli jets. It would have got into a hot war with russia if the us went ahead with it.
@ utu:
“[..] no-fly zone under the pretense of Syria using chemical weapon failed. In fact I still wonder how come it failed? Why Obama sided with Putin on this issue in September 2013?”
They didn’t side with Putin.
As the story goes… in the middle of the “diplomatic negotiations” Kerry mumbled that if Assad was to give up his [chemical] weapons, then the US would reconsider. Lavrov seized the opportunity and moved-in to make a deal with Assad to give-up the weapons.
When Assad agreed, the US backed off a little.
Now; my interpretation of the “US backing off,” is that maybe they thought the Russians will carry on disarming Assad one bit at the time, culminating in what they wanted to begging with; a no-fly zone.
But that’s just my own opinion (I wish I could back it up with solid evidence)
Don’t forget something very similar happened in the run-up to the Iraq war: they’ve made Saddam to give-up his chemical weapons first and then they they’ve made him submit to a very intrusive inspection of the whole country in the search of those illusive nukes [aka WMDs], all because of the false promise that if Iraq did everything the Hegemon wanted, and behave like a good boy: they would stave-off war.
The inspection did happen [carried out under the treacherous auspices of the UN], but the real aim was to gather intelligence on where to bomb Iraq later on.
If you put two and two together, chances are the US were hoping to dupe the Russians into repeating in Syria what they did with Iraq.
Aaaand in any case, if that didn’t go down the way they wanted, the USians [&Co] had a ‘plan B’ already in place. Plan B was ISIS, Daesh or whatever name they go by these days…
-TL2Q
Former French Foreign Minister Roland Dumas referred in a book he published in 2011 entitled Coups et Blessures (Assaults and Injuries), that “The “Israelis” are doing whatever they want in France, and are controlling the French Intelligence with what serves them”.
Former-French-FM-Israel-Controls-French-Intelligence-Lobby-Pressures-US-President
This young Syrian Girl explains why the New World Order (NWO) hates Syria, listing 8 reasons that may explain the current grave situation: text and video.
http://yournewswire.com/why-the-new-world-order-hates-syria/
ISIS Spreading ‘Flesh-Eating’ Disease in Syria as a Biologic Weapon
ISIS terrorist group are spreading ‘flesh eating bug’ across Syria as a result of killing people and dumping their corpses in streets, this is the leading factor behind the rapid spread of Leishmaniasis.
graphic..
http://en.alalam.ir/news/1766165
Hmmmm maybe we are not seeing more Iranian’s is because Russia wants to keep the number of foreigners to the level they were before and not esclate things.. It would also put greater burden on Syrians themselves who need to stay and fight for their country rather than running off.
The Russian army is literally bringing its big guns to the war in Syria. U.S. military analysts said the decision to add artillery to the battlefield indicates a number of key developments, including the Kremlin’s growing influence in planning and executing Syrian military operations.
It could be a sign that Russia is dedicated to a conventional ground war – not just air strikes – in support of Syrian leader Bashar Al Assad, a staunch ally long supported by Moscow.
Since at least October, Russia fielded heavy artillery units near the cities of Homs and Hama, pounding targets there, according to a top U.S. State Department official. However, most of Russia’s firepower was at Latakia air base in western Syria until recently.
The Russian decision to move artillery to the front lines is a newer development.
There’s certainly Russian influence within the Syrian army … and lots of guns.
Gen. Ali Ayoub, the Syrian army’s chief of staff, made a brief televised statement last month declaring the launch of a broad ground offensive that would be coordinated with Russia’s air campaign. He said the attack would include newly formed ground units including a “4th Assault Corps.”
“The Syrian army surge is proof of a new tactical military model, spiced with Russian flavors and led by the Sukhois from above, and which also includes greater use of artillery batteries,” the article continued.
Before the war in Syria, Assad’s howitzer arsenal was universally Soviet and Russian in origin. The Syrian army could depend on thousands of static and self-propelled guns. Since the conflict, Moscow has further beefed up Assad’s artillery with more advanced 152-millimeter MTSA-B guns, BM-27 Uragan and BM-30 Smerch rocket launchers.
“Due to the Syrian army’s strong reliance upon artillery, it is unsurprisingly that providing artillery assets is one way that Russia is attempting to bolster the Assad regime,” OE Watch noted. “Perhaps what is surprising is the types of artillery systems that are being provided.”
The deadliest of all may be the TOS-1A Solnitsa rocket launcher, which was spotted on video launching its warheads in Latakia. Mounted on a T-72 tank chassis, the TOS-1A can fire 30 220-millimeter thermobaric or incendiary rockets in a single salvo.
“The resultant explosion — which is usually much larger than an equivalent weight of conventional ordnance—creates a massive high temperature blast and a high-pressure shock wave,” Dave Majumdar wrote at The National Interest. “Those who are in the affected area — who are not immediately incinerated — die when the overpressure destroys their lungs.”
In Syria, the increased use of artillery could also indicate a shift away from military operations organized around insurgent forces recruited by Iran to a different military model that relies on Russian organization.
“Moscow is convinced of the need to strengthen conventional Syrian military forces and institutions and decrease the role of militias and the regime’s dependence on Iran,” journalist Ibahim Hamidi wrote in Al Hayat, one of the mostly widely read Arab newspapers in the region.
In a recent interview on a Russian news program, Konstantin Syvkov said more than 300 artillery pieces concentrated on a half-mile line outside of Hama produced a so-called “fire wave” that greatly aided the Syrian offensive at first. “This method consumes a lot of ammunition, but it is very effective in getting through fortifications,” Syvkov said. “This allowed the breakthrough via the enemy defenses.”
http://warisboring.com/articles/russia-brings-its-big-guns-to-syria/